Unusual weather trends spark speculation

Jacob Armstrong -- The CBU community experiences an unusual mixture of cloudy and sunny days in the midst of winter.

Sandals, flip flops, and short sleeve shirts have been seen across campus this winter. While some enjoy the oddly warm weather, others are wondering what happened to winter.

Due to the lack of Arctic cold wind coming down south, southern California seems to get an early spring.

Some weather sites are commenting on the apocalyptic explanation for the weird weather, while others are suggesting a more scientific approach. The Weather Channel cites La Nina as one of the reasons the west is experiencing warmer and dryer conditions. La Nina typically creates a dry period that causes drought conditions in the western pacific.

Another reason for the weather may be arctic oscillation, the cyclic change in the strength and waviness of the jet stream that circles the globe at the southern edge of the Arctic. A change in this pattern can cause short term weather changes.

Livescience.com posted, “When the jet stream is strong, it is less wavy, and Arctic cold does not penetrate very far southward. When the jet stream is weaker, it zig-zags, with southward excursions allowing frigid Arctic air to reach ordinarily warmer climates.”

When asked about the warm weather in Riverside Kelly Hahn, Senior said.

“It’s been crazy! I just really wish that it would just be cold and rainy. I love the rainy and cold weather!”

With temperature averages above normal and the winds and cool air that usually replace polluted air are non existent, the polluted air is sitting stagnate, causing potential health risks for southern California residents such as higher asthma outbreaks and harsh chemicals entering the lungs.

But not all students at CBU are wishing for rain, Alyssa Carter, Junior, said “ I don’t mind that the weather has been warmer, but I love how we are getting a little bit of everything this winter. It’s never really one season”

However, the spring-like weather in January may not last. Meteorologists predict the weather will return to a cooler pattern around the middle of January, finally bringing some rain and wind to the doorsteps of many southern Californians.

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